U.S. President Donald Trump this week demanded that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raise production to prevent further price rises ahead of midterm elections in November for U.S. Congress members.

Excuse me? In the item just above, President Trump accuses China of election meddling, but here he wants OPEC countries to raise production to favorably influence the US midterm elections. You can't have it both ways. -- RF

In reality, the middle class now makes up just over 50 percent of the total U.S. population, according to a recent report from Pew Research Center, which used 2016 data. That's compared to 61 percent in 1971.

The clandestine sale of oil to NK is not so much about making money (after all, it's a very small market) as it is about keeping NK from collapsing for lack of energy. To the US, which is far away, NK's collapse could be considered a good thing, but to other Far East countries it would be an unmitigated disaster. Waves of desperate refugees would be pouring into SKorea, China, and Russia. And then there is Japan. Boatloads of dead North Koreans are already washing up on Japanese shores. Imagine the influx of boat people if NK collapses. The US government needs to recognize the damaging results of its single-minded obsession with sanctions. -- RF

U.S. sanctions Venezuela officials, Trump slams MaduroThe United States imposed new sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's wife and several of his top allies on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump urged members of the United Nations to support a "restoration of democracy" in the once-booming OPEC nation.

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Saturday said that U.S. sanctions on Iran are leading to economic pain that could lead to a "successful revolution," contrasting with administration comments that government change in Tehran is not U.S. policy.

Palmer amaranth can grow to be 10 feet tall and as thick as a baseball bat. The weed has evolved resistance to multiple classes of herbicides, and it thrives in fields of corn, soybeans and cotton. Invaded cornfields can face losses of up to 91 percent.

The New York Times as Judge and JurySeeking to maintain its credibility, The New York Times dispenses with the criminal justice system and basic principles of journalism to weigh in again on Russia-gate.

Desperate for more tax donkeys. Smaller cities are great — come and live here! Then the influx makes them into bigger cities with all the problems people were fleeing. The solution is fewer humans and a redesigned socioeconomic system. Big cities with big buildings are unsustainable in the first place. -- RF